The following posts are gleaned from another thread, in edited form. They detail some things I have learned about the game and include questions and comments and bug reports that I have made that are intended for the Devs in particular.
I want to say first, that no one should get the wrong impression. I like this game very much and have been playing it avidly for days. The more I master its finer points the more I appreciate the work and care that has gone into making it, and I recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys military RTS games that require tactical knowledge and skill, patience, forethought, and creativity. It is a very good game. But, in my opinion, to make it a great one, it requires some fixing, and perhaps some addition and expansion.
The following comments began with me trying to figure out how to introduce M46 tanks into my campaigns:
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Quote (from Sneaksie):
Quote:
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Run it Editor.exe (it is located in MissionEditor fodler), left-click Templates menu and then Load Army Template, choose an XML file from Generator\CAMPAIGNS\USA folder (or PRK folder). Edit army pool using the list on the right as you see fit (placement of these units on the empty map doesn't mean anything in case of Army template). Make sure to use Save Army Template command to save your changes.
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Thank you for providing this information. Now I can play campaigns pitting heavy US tanks vs. the Soviet heavies. Much appreciated--this issue was driving me crazy. And I'm already crazy.
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Spoke too soon. I created a user campaign, USA vs. USSR using the Campaign Generator. I then edited the USA_infantry_template_m46.xml file to add the M46 Patton as a Reserve Unit. When I loaded the campaign, the Patton tanks were available in the Order Of Battle list. Then I launched the campaign and moved my Battle Groups into engagement with the enemy. After starting the battle, when I went into the Order of Battle menu to choose my units, the M46 tanks were gone, and it was the same old Shermans, Chaffees, and Jacksons.
Frustrating.
Can you suggest what I might be doing wrong? Please?
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Default Found a Work Around, plus a Bug
In order for the extra units to be available, I have to move my units into engagement, then save the game, exit, open the Mission Editor, and then save the .XML file into the campaign folder. I have saved a copy of the edited .XML file under a different name. It is then only necessary to open the file, save as...and save it as the file I want to replace. This is tiresome, but it is the only way I have found to get the tanks I want available in game.
To cap off my troubles, the Patton is bugged in the game. The Patton is armed, in game, with two .30 cal brownings, coaxial and bow machine guns. This is correct, I suppose. Although it is a shame that none of the tanks sport working heavy AA machine guns, which were (are) indispensable to their armament. However, the Patton, less its MA Deuce, is even worse off. None of its machine guns work because the Patton is carrying five boxes of .50 cal ammo and no .30 cal ammo, and I haven't yet figured out how to fix the issue. It doesn't seem to be possible to make the change using the Mission Editor, so I suppose it will have to be done by directly editing the .XML file. Any suggestions are welcome.
How do these things get by quality control? Don't they play the game before they put it on the market?
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Using the Mission Editor it is possible to change the amount of a certain type of ammunition a tank, or other unit, will carry. For instance, I could change the tank to carry ten more APCR rounds at the expense of ten other shells of other types.
Apparently, it is not possible to change the Type of ammunition. So I couldn't load my M4 with 90mm ammo (which I wouldn't want to do anyway). Neither can I fix my M46 so that it has functional machine guns. The XML files are links to the data files that store that kind of stuff--the available loadouts for different units. In the case of the M46, the info I need to change is located at data/items/magazines/12_7mm_browning_m2_hmg and I would need to change that last line to be /7_62mm_browning_m1919a4. And I could change it also to have some armor piercing ammo...if I could change it. Which I can't, because I believe the file in question is located within the Data.SFS file--and I believe these files are encrypted to prevent the game from being hacked, as well as to prevent users like me from taking it upon themselves to fix the damn game for themselves rather than wait weeks or months for a patch.
And before I leave off and give it a rest, can anyone tell me why Shermans are not armed with M2 HB mgs? They are one of the primary features that made the Sherman an exceptional infantry support tank, in spite of its draw-backs in main gun fire power and armor protection. And beyond that, is it possible to make tank commanders use the AA mgs on the tanks that have them? Surely they are not just for show? If Men of War can manage to do this brilliantly, surely it is not beyond the abilities of the coders of TOW: Korea, the game touted as the "most realistic wargame ever made".
So will this too be included in a patch?
EDIT
I'm going to continue to list what I perceive to be bugs in the game in the hopes that the Devs will take notice and fix them in a patch. Hopefully soon.
New bug: .30 cal Browning teams will not move out with their guns. They act like fixed gun emplacements. Strange--I decided to try to use them since I figured they would be more mobile than the .50s. Quite the opposite. The .50s at least will pick up their guns and go places.
This has got to be a bug as well--US 75mm Recoilless Rifle teams will not move with their weapons either. It's a defensive weapon, sure, but it's man portable by design for Christ's sake. Total weight 114 lbs. Between two soldiers, that's extremely portable.
Summary of bugs so far:
I should just delete this first thing in brackets, but what the heck, someone else might not have fully read the manual either. Anyway, OK, I get it that the CANCEL command is not only stop, but Cease Fire.
{Units (notably field guns and mortars, but also tanks, probably everything...) do not respond to the Hold Fire command. To make them cease fire it is necessary to give them a movement order, wait until they start to move, and then order them to halt. This is not good for game immersion.}
Patton has no coax or bow machine gun ammo.
Browning .30 cal immovable.
US 75mm RR immovable.
No working .50 cals (any heavy mgs on any tanks?) on US tanks--notably Patton and Jackson/Slugger which both have the guns modeled.
Sherman has no .50 cal, although this may be due to the fact that it was only usable when the gunner was standing on the rear deck of the tank and so introduces complications with animations, etc.
Should be able to carry mortars, and all other man portable heavy weapons on trucks, half-tracks, and helicopters, although the Devs may have done this by design to increase challenge at the expense of realism. Note--the challenge can always be increased by increasing the enemy's strength, morale, quality, etc. without introducing artificial limitations on the player's tactical options that stifle creativity and pragmatism on his part.
Will continue to update.